Susan's Place Transgender Resources

First my question is how long does it take to lose muscle and are there any exercise or diets that help. I am medium frame about 5'9 and weigh 179 pounds. < this is 10 pounds overweight  :(
The problem is most of my weight is muscle and sure i been getting fat redistribution most of that has only been my thighs and face. But i am 4.5 months in and i am seeing little to no change in most of my body like my legs, stomach, arms and chest. Any advice would be helpful because i want to lose weight but losing muscle is much harder.

I used a software app to track everything I ate and all my exercise.  The app lets me set goals, from which it comes up with some default carb, protein, and fat consumption levels. Then, by logging all my meals and snacks, the app uses a huge database to map from foods to the nutrition data. For example, I type in "Costco onion bagel", it pulls up the data, I tell it I ate half, with a half tablespoon of Country Crock Margerine With Calcium, it plonks all those numbers in and tells me how much I've had for the day, and how much of each macro nutrient I have left to go for the day.  I close it out at the end of the day, and it tells me where I might be in 5 weeks if every day were like this one.

Lots more on this and other stuff is over in this thread:  https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,212617.msg1882497.html#msg1882497

Best way to lose it, is to not use it. It's really that simple. You have to let hrt do the work and be patient. However do make sure your T count is as low as possible. Stay away from upper body exercises, work on your flexibility through yoga, improve posture, etc..

Fat redistribution takes at least two years to really settle in and to have noticeable differences. Its ideal to keep track of your changes, by measuring yourself (via tape measure) because these fat/muscle changes happen at a slow rate but having an idea of what's changing even if its only a cm diff will show you things are changing. 4.5 months is like barely anything I wouldn't get too worried. If you're already at least seeing changes so early then thats a really good sign you're responding well.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  I think HRT did a lot of the work for me.

I was already eating a lot more healthier and working out a lot.  My workouts included a lot of cardio.  I'm no vegetarian, but I eat a lot less meat (good for cholesterol anyways) and as little added sugar as possible.  Read the labels and keep track in a spreadsheet or application.

I did not notice the changes myself, and I still struggle to see them.  I have a brother who is similar in age and size as me, and he was the one that pointed it out.  I haven't told anyone about transitioning.

A lot of it has to do with how you gain muscle. In human biology class we learned of three main types. these types determine your shape and muscle gain/loss. These body types are noticeable even through our Dimorphism.

Ectomorphs are the humans with smaller frames, Muscle is harder to gain and harder to lose high metabolism.

Endomorphs are larger framed people, heavy set individuals with a lot of body fat that hides muscle.

Mesomorphs have low body fat, gain muscle easily but can lose it quickly, larger frame (broad shoulders, stocky rib cage etc)

I am an Ectomorph, you and I share very similar height and weight, but for me it took about a year for me to lose any Physical strength but when it kicked in, I lost it fast, and my muscle mass has barely changed, however fat has been redistributed.